Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre

Dana Yeaton is the recipient of the “New Voice in American Theatre” award from the William Inge Theatre Festival. His play “Helen At Risk” won the Heideman Award from the Actor’s Theatre of Louisville and his full-length drama “Mad River Rising” received the Moss Hart Award from the New England Theatre Conference. His two-person show, “Swing State,” was selected for the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Dana has received three fellowships in playwriting from the Vermont Arts Council and two from the Shenandoah International Playwrights Retreat. His plays in print include “Alice In Love,” “The Big Random,” “Helen At Risk,” “Mad River Rising,” “Men In Heat,” and “Midwives.” He has taught at the University of Tennessee, University of Vermont and at the Vermont Governor’s Institute on the Arts. He is Founding Director of the Vermont Young Playwrights Project.

Courses

Course List:

Courses offered in the past four years. ▲indicates offered in the current term▹indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]

FYSE1398 - Speechmakers Studio
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Speechmakers' Studio
Our teachers will be great speeches wherever we find them: from Antiquity and the Elizabethan stage, to Hollywood, the Civil Rights Movement, and TEDTalks gone viral. We will explore various theories of oratory, and, like students of classical rhetoric, we will emulate masterworks in order to sharpen our own persuasive skills. As speakers, we will practice vocal and physical techniques used by actors, as well as their methods for scene preparation. Throughout the semester, students will write and deliver speeches of their own, completing an immersion into speechmaking designed to help them communicate with precision, empathy, and personal conviction. 3hr. sem./disc. ART CW

INDE0800 - Ind Scholar Thesis
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PHED0249 - Oratory: Trng the Instrument
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PHED0449 - OratoryX: Public Spkng Workout
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THEA0218 / CRWR0218 - Playwriting I: Beginning
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Playwriting I: Beginning
The purpose of the course is to gain a theoretical and practical understanding of writing for the stage. Students will read, watch, and analyze published plays, as well as work by their peers, but the focus throughout will remain on the writing and development of original work. (Formerly THEA/ENAM 0218) ART CW WTR

THEA0318 / CRWR0318 - Playwriting II: Advanced
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Playwriting II: Advanced
For students with experience writing short scripts or stories, this workshop will provide a support structure in which to write a full-length stage play. We will begin with extended free and guided writing exercises intended to help students write spontaneously and with commitment. Class discussions will explore scene construction, story structure, and the development of character arc. (ENAM 0170 or THEA 0218 or ENAM/THEA 0240; by approval) 2 1/2 hrs. lect./individual labs ART CW

THEA0500 - Intermediate Indep Project
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Intermediate Independent Project
In consultation with their advisors, theatre majors in design may propose a THEA 0500 Intermediate Independent Project. Preliminary proposal forms approved by the student's advisor will be submitted to the program by March 1st of the preceding academic year for those wanting credit in the fall or winter terms and by October 1st for those wanting credit in the spring term. Projects will conform to the guidelines that are available in the theatre office. Students are required to attend a weekly THEA 0500/0700 seminar.

THEA0700 - Senior Project
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Senior Independent Project
Senior work is required. In consultation with their advisors, theatre majors may propose a THEA 0700 Independent Project. Preliminary proposal forms approved by the student's advisor will be submitted to the program by March 1st of the preceding academic year for those wanting credit in the fall or winter terms and by October 1st for those wanting credit in the spring term. Projects will conform to the guidelines that are available in the theatre office. Students are required to attend a weekly THEA 0500/0700 seminar.

THEA1020 / ENAM1020 - Performing Others: Solo Show

Performing Others: Writing and Staging the Solo Show
Theatre artists such as Anna Deavere Smith, Danny Hoch, and Sarah Jones make a habit of writing and performing roles they were not born to play. Jumping over barriers of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, these soloists are committed to embodying “the other.” In addition to analyzing professional works, students in Performing Others will create and develop a variety of monologues featuring characters that may be fictional, biographical, or based upon interviews. Together we will form an ensemble for developing new material and for processing issues that necessarily arise when we dare to imagine ourselves as others. ART CW WTR

THEA1021 / INTD1021 - Oratory Studio

Oratory: A Speechmaking Studio
Our teachers will be great speeches wherever we find them: from Antiquity and the Elizabethan stage, to Hollywood, the Civil Rights Movement, and TEDTalks gone viral. We will explore various theories of oratory, and, like students of classical rhetoric, we will emulate masterworks in order to sharpen our own persuasive skills. As speakers, we will practice vocal and physical techniques used by performers, as well as their methods for analyzing text. During the course, students will write and deliver their own speeches, completing an immersion into speechmaking designed to help them communicate with precision, empathy, and personal conviction. (Not open to students who have taken FYSE 1355 or FYSE 1398) ART WTR